| Match 43: |
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| By: Thomas Singleton |
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King Kong glared at his opponents.
One was a four-legged, horned brute. It could
leap vast distances. Its teeth resembled man-sized daggers.
Crimson flesh wrapped around its toad-saurian shaped features.
Its thin pointed ears twitched whenever it heard a sound. Kong
rarely judged a creature for its appearance. But for Baragon,
he'd make an exception. Baragon's raspy breaths steamed the
air around his drooling mouth.
The second was a towering theropod. Pixels of
gray skin decorated its fearsome body. Sunlight made his skin
glint like diamonds. While its short stubby arms were far from
menacing, its massive jaws made Kong nervous. The great ape
paid no heed to the dinosaur's muscular legs. But when Kong
noticed a row of spikes down Gorosaurus' back, he gritted his
teeth in annoyance. For some reason, Gorosaurus reminded him
of another dinosaur he had fought many times in the past. He
was looking forward to venting his frustrations out on Gorosaurus.
Then there was the last giant. This beast was
taller than Gorosaurus. Its flesh was so red it looked as if
it had been baptized in a sea of blood. Its emerald catlike
eyes favored Kong with excitement. Orange-reddish fins jutted
out of its neck and backside. Its arms were motionless while
its fingers fiddled around like they were playing on a piano.
The tip of its tail confounded Kong. Before Kong could ever
hope to understand why, Titanosaurus turned its back to him,
and provided the answer. The tip of its tail parted, revealing
a fan. Titanosaurus wagged its tail back and forth, flapping
strong winds into Kong's face. Not only were the winds strong
enough to blow Kong off his feet, they blinded the great ape's
eyes with dirt and plants.
On an island located in the Pacific, surrounded
by miles of dense jungles, rivers, and waterfalls, King Kong
roared in defiance and pounded his chest with his fists. Blindly,
the great ape charged at Titanosaurus, braving the powerful
winds. With his black hair billowing and his footing all but
lost, Kong furrowed his brow. A surge of adrenaline spiked his
already legendary strength. King Kong jumped forward, parting
the winds, and catching Titanosaurus's tail in the process.
Titanosaurus wailed in surprise as Kong pulled the beast off
its feet with its own tail. The island shook when Titanosaurus
fell into it. Kong jumped onto Titanosaurus, pounding the reptile's
head in with his fists. Before any permanent damage could be
inflicted, Baragon speared its horn into Kong's ribcage.
The pain was immediate. Kong hunched over, nursing
his wound. With the wind knocked out of him, Kong squinted to
see where Baragon had gone. All he could find was a hole in
the ground. Kong rose to his feet right when Baragon burst out
of the ground underneath him. Using all the strength it could
muster, Baragon aimed for the sky when it jumped. Baragon never
reached the sky. No, it hit Kong in his lower jaw, which toppled
the great ape instantly. Blood dripped out of Kong's cracked
mouth. Its scent sent Baragon into a feeding frenzy. Baragon
pounced onto Kong's chest, relishing the kill. As it prepared
to rip into Kong's throat with its teeth, Kong slammed his fist
into Baragon’s skull. The first hit rattled Baragon's
brain, forcing the dinosaur to go into epileptic shock. The
second nearly shattered Baragon's skull, making him lose his
eyesight. The third sent Baragon flying into a batch of trees,
blood squirting out of its nose. Kong watched an unconscious
Baragon twitch and squirm.
Slowly, Kong managed to get to his feet. That’s
when the ground rumbled. Kong searched for the source. It wasn't
hard to find. Gorosaurus sprinted at King Kong, its maw wide.
Pain flooded Kong's thoughts, expunging all other sensations.
It took several seconds for Kong to realize Gorosaurus was crushing
his arm with its bone crunching jaws. Kong howled, fighting
the urge not to faint. With his other hand, Kong grabbed the
outer edges of Gorosaurus's jaws, trying in vain to pull them
apart. Gorosaurus thrashed, yanking Kong’s arm out of
its socket. Falling to his knees, Kong knew he had only seconds
to react before Gorosaurus would rip his arm off. Thinking quickly,
Kong grabbed one of Gorosaurus’s legs and pulled it out
from under him. Gorosaurus’s powerful jaws became his
undoing. Though his arm was still being maimed by the dinosaur’s
teeth, Kong found great use for it by combining his strength
with gravity to slam Gorosaurus into the earth. The impact forced
Gorosaurus to relinquish its grip on Kong's arm.
That's when Kong vented.
Baragon blinked. Slowly, it regained consciousness.
It had its metabolism to thank for its miraculous recovery.
Baragon rolled onto its feet, searching for King Kong. It found
him beating the life out of Gorosaurus in a clearing. Baragon
knew in a one-on-one fight against either, it stood no chance.
Perhaps it’d let Kong pound Gorosaurus into a bloody pulp.
Then after the ape had left, Baragon’s teeth would find
Gorosaurus’s flesh. It would’ve been the perfect
plan. However, fate had given Baragon a ravenous hunger, which
threw common sense out the window millions of years ago.
Kong felt Gorosaurus' ribs shatter with each
punch. Gorosaurus wailed so loud the entire island could hear
its pain. Again and again, Kong pounded the carnivore’s
chest. At one point Kong bent down and bit one of Gorosaurus’s
tiny arms to return the favor. The great ape would’ve
bit the arm in half had Baragon not tackled him off Gorosaurus.
Baragon wasted no time munching on King Kong’s neck. Hot
blood poured into Baragon’s mouth, emboldening the dinosaur's
already insatiable hunger. Kong overpowered Baragon by standing
upright and judo flipping the beast head first. One moment,
Baragon was swallowing blood; the next, it was swallowing dirt.
Raising his arms above his head, Kong wanted to make short work
of Baragon’s skull. Baragon rolled over, breathing fire
into Kong’s face. Kong closed his eyes just in time as
the scorching flames burned his face. With smoke obscuring his
vision, Kong couldn’t see a revived Titanosaurus charging
him at full speed.
King Kong didn't see Titanosaurus kick him. But
he sure as hell felt it.
One kick sent Kong sailing through the tropical
winds. The great ape landed in a river large enough to contain
him. The impact created massive waves that swallowed the nearby
trees. Kong rushed to the surface to breathe. The water helped
cool his burnt face but not his rage. Swimming to the shore,
Kong was almost close enough to pull himself back into the jungle.
Suddenly, Titanosaurus leapt head first into Kong. Titanosaurus’s
massive size alone drove Kong straight into the river’s
floor. Before Kong could retaliate, Titanosaurus disappeared
into the murky depths. Kong fought to return to the surface,
knowing the aquatic saurian was circling him like a predator.
This made Kong madder. Snarling, Kong stopped his ascent, and
challenged Titanosaurus in his own watery domain. The great
ape was prey to no one! Like a torpedo, Titanosaurus speared
Kong into the river’s edge, accepting his challenge. Titanosaurus
repeatedly clawed and bashed Kong’s head. Before Kong
could do anything about it, Titanosaurus' jaws found Kong’s
throat. Kong panicked, realizing this beast could bite as hard
as Gorosaurus. But the situation became worse; Titanosaurus'
neck muscles were the strongest in the world. It easily matched
Kong’s prestigious upper body strength. Kong was running
out of time and air.
Baragon crept closer to Gorosaurus, not sure
if the larger beast was alive or dead. When it saw Gorosaurus
breathing, Baragon hesitated. The smaller carnivore was about
to retreat until the situation dawned on him: Gorosaurus was
unconscious! Like a hungry rabid dog, Baragon was about to pounce
on Gorosaurus until the bigger dinosaur stirred from its sleep.
Gorosaurus snapped to its feet, seething with pain and anger.
It glared at Baragon, stopping the smaller beast in its tracks.
But Gorosaurus did not attack. The mightiest beast on the island
was still very much alive. To take down the Eighth Wonder of
the World, Gorosaurus would need all the help it could get.
Strategy was as foreign to Baragon as science was to a fire
ant. Like a frog, Baragon jumped out of danger and took refuge
in the jungles. Gorosaurus marched to where it could smell the
oversized mammal, knowing Baragon had not abandoned the battle.
Meanwhile, Kong had the choice of either drowning
or fighting dirty. He picked the latter. In less than a second,
Kong’s hand moved fast enough to pluck one of Titanosaurus’s
eyes out of their socket. Titanosaurus backed away, its screams
reverberating downstream. Kong swam to the surface, not before
punching Titanosaurus’s face in for good measure.
Even after dragging himself back onto dry land,
Kong had trouble breathing. Titanosaurus had bitten him so hard
his windpipe had almost been crushed. The great ape was given
only a minute to regain his strength. Gorosaurus shook the earth
as he sprinted towards King Kong. Kong braced himself for a
mouth full of sharp teeth. Instead, Gorosaurus stopped in front
of him. Leaping up, Gorosaurus kicked Kong like a kangaroo.
Earlier, Kong underestimated Gorosaurus’s legs. Now he
never will again. Gorosaurus kicked Kong so hard he parted the
river as he crashed into the other side.
Lying on his back, it took moments for Kong to
realize where he was. The river separated him from Gorosaurus.
It was a temporary reprieve. With a broken sternum and punctured
lung, Kong’s chances weren’t looking good. Gorosaurus
stepped into the river, swimming much like a crocodile would.
When it made landfall, Kong thought he was seeing things. Gorosaurus
and Titanosaurus emerged out of the river. Streaks of blood
dripped out of where Titanosaurus once had an eye. Leaping across
the river in a single bound was Baragon. Now all three dinosaurs
were closing in on King Kong. They were going to attack him
together and finish this fight.
Even if this is his last fight, King Kong will
take them all down with him.
Titanosaurus and Gorosaurus lunged at Kong in
unison. Kong outmaneuvered Gorosaurus’s snapping jaws,
pushing the beast into Titanosaurus’s path. Titanosaurus
tripped, pinning Gorosaurus to the ground. In one move, Kong
had temporarily removed his most dangerous attackers from the
battle. Baragon stayed back, torching Kong with his fire breath.
Kong shielded his face with one arm, while grabbing a nearby
boulder with his other and chucking it at the fire breathing
dinosaur. It shattered when it hit Baragon’s face. It
was enough to keep Baragon distracted long enough for Kong to
run over, grab its horn, and snatched it out of its forehead.
Kong wasn’t finished; he seized Baragon’s mouth,
hoisted its head up, and plunged the horn into the screaming
creature’s throat.
Baragon died instantly.
One down, two to go. Gorosaurus and Titanosaurus
were back on their feet. Kong faced them, unimpressed. With
a savage roar, one that made Gorosaurus and Titanosaurus stop
in their tracks and rethink their strategy, King Kong challenged
them. He challenged them not only for the lordship of these
lands but for the right to live.
Titanosaurus swung around, flapping its tail.
A gust of wind smashed into Kong, ripping scores of trees from
their roots. Kong punched into the ground deep enough to anchor
himself to it. But the winds were too fierce. Try as he might,
Kong could not stop the winds from blowing him off his feet.
As soon as Kong landed on his back, Gorosaurus’s foot
slammed into his chest. Kong’s tired, broken body prevented
him from expressing his pain. Gorosaurus' lungs were still burning,
a testament of Kong’s strength. Reluctantly, the dinosaur
continued stomping Kong’s chest in. Gorosaurus would rather
seek shelter and rest for a month. But he knew it’d be
easier to rest with a full stomach.
King Kong caught Gorosaurus' foot, snapping his
ankle in a single twist. Howling in pain, Gorosaurus hopped
away on one foot. Kong jumped up, eager to take advantage of
Gorosaurus’s injury. But he was too tired to see Titanosaurus
running at him. Scaly arms wrapped around Kong’s chest,
squeezing the life out of him. Kong would’ve freed himself
if Titanosaurus hadn’t bitten his neck. Titanosaurus lifted
the great ape off the ground with his jaws. Kong couldn’t
fight back, let alone move. Titanosaurus swung Kong around without
difficulty. In a final showcase of incredible strength, Titanosaurus
tossed Kong into the ground next to the immobile Gorosaurus.
First there was darkness. Then there was light.
Little by little, the obscurity of Kong’s surroundings
became clearer. Kong clung to the grass, his body shaking. The
tremors in the ground quickly alerted Kong to Titanosaurus’s
whereabouts. The aquatic beast was about a hundred meters away.
When Titanosaurus was close enough Kong could smell his vile
flesh, the great ape used up the last of his strength. Slipping
past Titanosaurus’s claws and vile jaws, Kong yanked the
towering saurian down with his biceps. Kong considered choking
Titanosaurus to death. But he thought that might’ve been
too much of a hassle. Instead, King Kong snapped his neck, and
Titanosaurus’s eyes rolled up into their sockets.
Kong opened and closed Titanosaurus' lifeless
mouth. Satisfied, the great ape faced the Sun and pounded his
chest in victory. Surveying the island—his island—Kong
saw Gorosaurus writhing where he left him. Kong approached the
dinosaur with caution. While Gorosaurus was not the mightiest
creature King Kong had ever fought, he certainly had a great
deal of potential. During the battle, Gorosaurus showed an uncanny
sense of loyalty. He could’ve devoured Baragon or Titanosaurus
but chose not to.
The world was full of giants. Even now, Kong
could sense some of them closing in on his new territory. Gorosaurus
could help dissuade them from taking what is rightfully his.
Kong locked eyes with Gorosaurus and laughed. Who was he kidding?
He knew the real reason why he was keeping Gorosaurus alive.
King Kong could use the entertainment.
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